Harry's Returned Favour
by Healer Pomfrey
Summary: Sequel to Harry's Silent Saviour. Will Professor Snape let Harry return the favour? Set during Harry's sixth year. Completely AU of course , partly OOC, sick!Severus


**Harry's returned Favour - Sequel to "Harry's Silent Saviour"  
**

Harry was on his way to the Great Hall for dinner, when he spotted his Head of House in a stern talk with the Potions Master, standing in a very close distance to the man. He quickly hid in the shadows of an alcove and listened in on the conversation.

"Severus, you're ill and in no condition to teach let alone brew potions. Please go to bed and let me look after you or go to the hospital wing and talk to Poppy. You're burning up," Professor McGonagall insisted, placing a hand on the man's forehead.

"Biderva, I'b well edough to teach add brew, add I dod't have a choice adyway because I have to brew the Wolfsbade Potiod todight, or do you wadt to have a werewolf ruddigg aroud?"

"Maybe Poppy or someone else can help you?" Professor McGonagall suggested sternly.

Snape let out an annoyed groan. "I prefer to be alode so that I dod't have to speak at all," he replied impatiently. "Dow, if you would please excuse be? I have to start od the potiod."

"Won't you eat dinner, Severus?" McGonagall asked in obvious concern.

"Doe Biderva, I dod't have tibe todight." Snape shortly inclined his head and turned around to walk down to the dungeons.

From his spot in the alcove Harry could see that his normally pale face was deeply flushed. '_I should go and offer to help him_,' he mused. '_He helped me when I was sick in summer, and I never even thanked him so far, because I didn't know how to address it_.'

He hurried to the Great Hall, knowing that his friends would be worried if he didn't show up, and noticed with relief that Hermione was already there. He quickly told her that he had detention with Professor Snape, causing her to throw him a surprised look, before he left the Great Hall and headed down to the dungeons.

Ten minutes later, he hesitantly knocked at the Potions Master's door, surprised when he was called in immediately. He anxiously opened the door, averting his eyes to the floor. "Professor, by chance I overheard your conversation with Professor McGonagall and I wanted to ask if perhaps I could help you with the Wolfsbane potion. I could prepare ingredients for you if you showed me how it worked," he said softly, before he slowly looked up in the teacher's flushed face.

Snape sat down at his desk in surprise and gave Harry a pensive look, remaining silent for a moment.

"Professor, I also want to thank you for what you did for me during the summer, and I'd be glad if you let me help you today in return."

'Why does he know that it was me?' Snape thought unbelievingly. "Are you sure, Potter?" he finally asked, sounding very hoarse.

"Of course, Professor. You know that I'm not so good at Potions, but if you told me exactly what I had to do..."

"Very well, if you're sure. You're dot so bad. All right; please follow be." He led Harry into his private lab, in which he normally didn't tolerate any student, but he had to brew the Wolfsbane in the lab, because all the tools and ingredients needed were there.

During the next few hours they worked quietly next to each other. The teacher instructed Harry what he had to do, and Harry diligently prepared the ingredients, so that the professor could fully concentrate of the brewing process. It was nearly midnight when Professor Snape set the potion aside and stated, "The potiod has to sibber for twedty bidutes. I suggest that you head back to your dorbitory add get sobe sleep, Potter."

Harry looked into the obsidian eyes that looked glazed over on this evening and replied, "No Professor. You're ill and in no condition to be up at this time of the night. I'll assist you as long as you need me. How long will it take until the potion is finished?"

"It will take udtil the bordig Potter. If you contidued to help be, we bight be fidished at five o'clock id the bordig; otherwise I'd have to take it with be idto the classroob add fidish after the secod bordig class." He motioned Harry to follow him into the living room and sit down, heavily letting himself sink onto the sofa.

Harry stepped over to the professor and worriedly extended a hand to the man's forehead, nearly jumping startled. "Professor, you seem to have a very high fever. Have you taken any potions?"

"Yes, but they odly help so buch. I deed to brew the flu potiod, but I dod't have tibe todight." He summoned a phial, which Harry recognized as a fever reducing potion and gulped it down, sighing in relief.

Around three o'clock Harry had flawlessly prepared all the ingredients, and the professor thanked him profusely, once more telling him to go to bed. However, Harry had noticed that Snape's condition was getting worse by the hour and refused to leave his side.

"Professor, please sit down in a chair and tell me exactly what to do. I'll take care of the brewing," he offered.

Noticing that he could hardly keep himself on his feet, the professor grudgingly agreed and let Harry brew the difficult potion, watching him like a hawk. Harry did exactly what he was told and fully concentrated on his work, so that he managed to brew the potion flawlessly. He sighed in relief when the Professor told him at five o'clock in the morning that it was finished.

The professor slowly rose from his seat, swaying a little as dizziness overcame him. Harry quickly steadied him and instructed the man to sit down again. "It's all right, Professor. I will bottle the potion."

"Doe," the teacher replied harshly, ending up in a coughing fit. "You cad't bottle the Wolfbade potiod. You odly cover the cauldrod add leave it as it is. Thagks a lot for your help, Bister Potter."

"Professor, where can I find the flu potion?" Harry asked firmly. "I know that I can brew it, because we did it in class, but I need the recipe. I'll help you into bed, and then I'll brew the potion for you."

Snape pointed to a book on the shelf and croaked, "Page 364."

"Ah all right," Harry confirmed after a glance at the mentioned page. He stepped over to the professor and offered an arm in order to help him into bed. '_He must feel really unwell, if he agrees to let me brew a potion in his private lab_,' Harry mused in concern.

The professor heavily leaned onto Harry's arm and headed in the direction of his bedroom, where Harry gently helped him to lie down.

"Professor, can you magically take your own temperature, or do you have a thermometer?" Harry asked in concern.

"Id the bathroob," Snape croaked, weakly pointing to a door, before he exhaustedly closed his eyes.

Harry hurried to the bathroom and coaxed the teacher into opening his mouth so that he could take his temperature. "40.9," he gasped terrified. "Shouldn't I get Madam Pomfrey for you, Professor?"

"Doe. The flu potiod will do," Snape whispered weakly.

Harry tried hard to remember how to conjure objects and finally conjured a cool cloth, which he used to gently bathe the teacher's flushed face, before he adjusted it to his forehead. "All right, I'll try to brew the flu potion," he said and headed back to the lab.

Two hours later, the potion was finished, and Harry felt completely exhausted but extremely happy when he brought a goblet with the orange green liquid into the teacher's bedroom. He lightly shook the professor's shoulder to wake him up, before he gently helped him to sit up just enough to drink the potion, watching as the professor gave the potion a close look and sniffed at it, before he gulped it down.

"That's much better," Snape sighed in relief. "Thank you very much, Mr. Potter. I will excuse you from your morning classes today. Please go to bed and rest."

"No Professor," Harry contradicted vehemently. "You're going to stay in bed, Professor. I'll go and contact the Headmaster, so that he'll cancel your classes. May I come and look after you again at lunchtime, so that I can give you another dose of the potion if necessary?"

Obviously still feeling too ill to disagree, Snape sighed and replied, "All right. Thank you, Mr. Potter. In case you come back later, the password to my quarters is 'Lily'."

Harry hurried up the stairs, noticing as he went that he didn't know the password for the gargoyle in front of the Headmaster's office. "Well, I can as well talk to McGonagall," he mused and hesitantly knocked at his Head of House's office.

"Mr. Potter, what happened?" McGonagall asked, motioning him to take a seat.

"I just wanted to tell you that Professor Snape's classes have to be cancelled today. He has the flu, well, at least he thinks so, and the flu potion I brewed for him seemed to work. He had over forty degrees of fever this morning."

McGonagall gave her student an astonished look. "I know that he is ill, but can you perhaps explain why it is you of all people to know about it?"

Harry sighed and continued in a small voice, "By chance I overheard your conversation with him yesterday, and I followed him into his office and helped him to brew the Wolfsbane potion until the morning. Then I put him to bed and made the flu potion for him, and when I told him to stay in bed today he agreed and asked me to tell the Headmaster."

"You helped him brew the Wolfsbane potion all night?" the teacher commended Harry in a soft voice. "Fifty points to Gryffindor for helping a teacher in obvious need." Her expression softened when she continued, "Harry, you should go to bed and sleep until at least lunchtime. We don't want you to get ill as well."

"No Professor, I'm fine and I don't want to miss Transfiguration and Defence against the Dark Arts," Harry replied firmly. "I also promised Professor Snape to come back and look after him at lunchtime."

"All right, Harry, but if you feel too tired during the day and want to go to bed, please come to me and I will inform your teachers accordingly," Professor McGonagall said warmly, giving the boy an approving smile.

HP HEALER POMFREY HP

Harry spent lunchtime as well as the afternoon following his classes in Professor Snape's quarters to nurse the teacher back to health and to help him brew a potion in the evening that was urgently needed in the hospital wing. When he checked on the professor once more before finally returning to his dormitory, Snape was feeling much better and his fever had come down to a slight temperature.

"Shall I take the Wolfsbane to Professor Lupin's office?" Harry offered before he turned to the door.

"Yes please, Mr. Potter. I had completely forgotten about that," Snape admitted, shooting Harry a grateful look.

Half an hour later, Harry exhaustedly let himself sink in his bed and was asleep in the blink of an eye. He only woke up when Hermione lightly shook his shoulder, urgently asking him, "Harry, are you going to get up? Transfiguration is going to start in ten minutes."

When he sat in the Transfiguration classroom slowly waking up while he was trying to concentrate on the lesson, he noticed that he had obviously caught the flu from Professor Snape. '_Oh no_,' he groaned inwardly, feeling absolutely horrible.

"Mr. Potter, please stay back for a moment," Professor McGonagall told him when she dismissed the students at the end of the class, causing Harry to wearily walk up to the front of the classroom.

"Harry, are you all right?" the teacher asked in concern, extending a hand to his forehead that felt icy to his skin. "Please follow me into my office," she told him and motioned him to sit down on a chair next to her desk. She took his temperature using an old Muggle thermometer and said in exasperation, "Harry, didn't you notice that you're ill? You have a fever of nearly forty degrees!"

"I'm sorry, but I slept until ten minutes before the beginning of the Transfiguration class," Harry replied hoarsely. I only noticed during the class that I don't feel well."

"All right, Harry. Since I have to teach classes, I'll call Madam Pomfrey, so that she can take you to the hospital wing. You'll need at least two days of bed rest. I'll come and check on you later today."

"Professor, I you know mean it well, but I don't want you to get sick as well," Harry replied, shivering violently.

Ten minutes later, he found himself in a crispy white bed in the hospital wing, where Madam Pomfrey fed him a dose of the batch of flu potion, which he had brewed little more than a day ago.

When he woke up it was already dark outside and Harry still didn't feel much better. Hearing a soft noise from his left side, he lazily opened his achy eyes just a little bit and saw an owl sitting on the back of a chair next to his bed. It was a black owl with a snowy white face.

Harry gave the owl a genuine smile. "Thanks Professor for watching over me," he whispered hoarsely.

The owl slowly inclined its head before it turned its head to rest it on its back feathers and sleep for the night still watching the boy.

**The End**

* * *

_Thanks to all those, who were so kind and reviewed the prequel encouraging me to write this. As you know, I'm not a native speaker of English; please excuse my mistakes or tell me, so that I can correct them._

_All recognizable characters belong to __Mrs. Rowling__, and I am not earning anything by writing this story._


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